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Calathriner Communications, Inc.
Calathriner Communications, Inc. is the world's largest communications and entertainment conglomerate. Owning a large band of assets, the company was first founded as the small Calathriner Films in 1903 and has expanded considerably since then. Assets Calathriner Communications owns a large string of assets. They have been acquired over the years and are the following: Television *HBO *Cinemax *CBS **CBS News **CBS International **CBS Canada **CBS England **CBS Kids **CBS Movies **CBS Weekly Sports **CBS Television Distribution **King World Productions **Mark Burnnet Productions **The CW Network *ABC **ABC World News **ABC Sports **ABC Movies **ABC Productions **ABC Kids **ABC Pictures **Univision *TNT *TBS *TCM *Cartoon Network **Boomerang **Adult Swim *CNN *ESPN *Lifetime *Lifetime Movie Network *History Channel *Biography Channel *Military History Channel *SOAP *A&E Music *Calathriner Records **Buena Vista Records **Touchstone Records **Walt Disney Records **Motown Records **Redric Records **Rap Records **Hollywood Records **Calathriner Music Publishing **Warner Records Cinema *Warner Bros. Pictures **Warner Independent Pictures **Castle Rock Entertainment **Warner Bros. Animation ***Looney Tunes ***Hanna-Barbara Productions ***CW Kids **Warner Bros. Home Video **Warner Family Entertainment **Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment **Warner Bros. Television ***Telepicture Productions ***CW Network **New Line Cinema **DC Comics ***Madman ***Vertigo ***Action Comics *Universal Pictures **Universal Studios **Universal Television **Universal Animation *Pixar Pictures *Dreamworks *20th Century Fox **Fox Television Network **Fox Films **Fox Archives *Calathriner Theaters **United Paramount Theaters **Loew Theaters **MGM Theaters **Columbia Theaters **Warner Theaters Publishing *Lord James Publications **Daily Journal **English News **English Sports **English History Pages **Harper Collins *Time Publications **Time **Sports Illustrated **Fortune **People **GOLF Magazine **Southern Living **Girls Weekly **Woman's Life **Entertainment Weekly **Bird Keeper **BMX Business News **Country Living **Country Homes and Interiors **Fortune **In Style *Hemes Magazines *Home Improvement *Healthy Style *Safety and Reason *Newspaper Calathriner **Daily News **American Editorial **British Telegraph **European Affairs **Wall Street Journal **Rocky Mountain News Consumer Products *Calathriner Movies **Calathriner CDS *Calathriner Computers **Calathriner HP **Calathriner Compaq Parks and Resorts *Six Flags parks **Calathriner Parks **Diner Parks **Western Parks **Hollywood Resorts **Stately Hills **Hawaii Hills History Origins and Founding Calathriner Communications originates from the company Calathriner Films, a film distribution firm established in 1903 by Philip Calathriner Sr. Philip, who had been born into a poor Austrian immigrant family, had originally worked as a steward at hotels and restaurants. Philip was a expert at collecting and saving money. From his earnings he gathered about $1,500, enough to begin his company. Calathriner Films originally served as a distribution branch for the Thomas Edison Motion Pictures Trust. At the beginning of its operations, Calathriner was headquarted in a small house and had only six employees. By 1907, due to Philips's considerable business skill, Calathriner Films was distributing films in eight states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland), mainly in the eastern seaboard. In 1908, the Films Trust, under legal pressure and increasing competition from other film-producing companies, dissolved, and Calathriner Films purchased the rights to 70 Trust produced films for $55,600. These films had been made between 1892 and 1907. Calathriner later gave these films to the National Film Archive in 1967. In 1912, the company began production of its own films. A talented Irish immigrant named James Chase became the finanical auditor for the company in April 1913 and proposed a new monopoly: publishing. Philip Calathriner agreed and in 1916 the Calathriner Publishing Division was established, producing such hit magazines as The Rules of Life, Advice for Women, and Progress in Europe. Soon the publishing division became the primary component of the company, and in 1918 Calathriner Films became Calathriner Productions. The company was officially incorporated as Calathriner Communications, Inc. on 24 May 1923, regarded as the founding date for the company. Early Years The company continually expanded its publishing division, and on 23 November 1923 Philip Calathriner, Sr. established Time Publishing Operations as the primary publishing branch of Calathriner Communications. Meanwhile, the film division was failing. In June 1918, the company purchased Republic Pictures, a minor film studio for a bargain of $98,600. Republic Pictures was merged with Calathriner Pictures to form Columbia Pictures, Inc.. In 1925, Calathriner Communications offered $1,000,000 each to the owners of successful United Artists, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, D.W Griffith, and Charlie Chaplin if they surrendered their company to Calathriner. They refused, and so in response Calathriner began a public flame campaign against UA, which was maintained until the company and it's library were finally purchased in 1967, long after the original owners (Fairbanks, Pickford, Griffith, and Chaplin) were dead or retired. In 1920, the company began it's "Great Expansion" that would last into the 40s. It began by acquiring the large Universal Pictures and its associated library for $670,000, tripling the size of it's film division. Columbia Pictures was merged into Universal, to become Universal-Columbia Pictures. In this process, Calathriner also acquired some 50 theaters owned by Universal. To manage these, the theaters were separated from Universal and reestablished as Calathriner Theaters, and Calathriner Theater Holdings was created to manage them. In 1923, after its official incorporation, Calathriner Communications expanded even more. On 18 April that year, the company acquired the color-film pioneering company Technocolor for $560,000, and through Universal released the first all-color film, Ms. Wong's Family, a critical and commerical success. Using Technocolor technology, Universal's logo and screen openings were upgraded to color on film. Other film companies could not upgrade their black-white logos to color logos, since Calathriner owned rights to that technology. Warner Bros. concluded a contract with Calathriner in 1928 to release sixty pictures between 1929-1933 with color, including it's logos in those films. Later, the 1924 purchase of General Electric further expanded the corporation, and it acquired rights to more then 1,000 Edison patents, over 900 of them which it sold by 1928 for a combined total of nearly $1,200,000. Among these were his film patent, which Calathriner claimed near-complete ownership of until 1931. More Expansion In 1926, Calathriner Communications began its expansion into radio by acquiring a broadcasting tower, WRCO-Radio, in Los Angeles for a mere $700. Due to the company's great investment into the station, by 1928 it had become the largest and most profitable radio station in Los Angeles. Calathriner also opened WCMI-94 in San Fransisco and RCM-98 in Dallas, Texas. By 1929, these stations were the largest in the West. To expand its radio control across the country, Calathriner Communications acquired the young CBS radio network on 21 September 1928, gaining control of more then 40 radio stations in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, and St. Louis. By 1933, CBS expanded to 110 radio stations. At the same time it purchased WRCO-Radio, the company instigated a series of actions that expanded Universal. On 5 June 1926, Universal was overhauled and reorganized and the founder Carl Lammele was forced to resign as president of the Calathriner/Universal film division. The newly reformed Universal was separated from direct interaction with the Calathriner Theaters chain, and many legendary Universal films, including Phantom of the Opera, were re-released, with improved special effects, visuals, as well with Technocolor sequences. By 1928, Universal had acquired the distribution and re-release rights to the films of Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin, merging them with its own archives to create Universal Film Holdings. Later that year, a in-Technocolor re-production of some of Chaplin's greatest films was released. In 1928, Universal released Show Boat, the first feature of the company to have music soundtracks and a film segment of talking, when the lead actress sings. The reason it was able to have sound on this film was because of Western Electric's merger with General Electric before the film was released to become General Electric and Soundtracks, Inc.. Show Boat was a critical and commerical success, and by 1929, all films in Hollywood, including those of Calathiner's, was produced in sound. Depression Troubles and Recovery In October 1929, the crash of the stock market caused the company's investors to lose $345 million. The company had to borrow money from Capital International, a major loaning and banking corporation, in 1930 in order to remain solvent. In 1931, the company was foreclosed by Capital because it could not re-pay it's debts. Philip Calathriner's son, Philip Jr., ironically the president of Capital, became CEO and president of Calathriner Communications and heavily cut down Calathriner's debt by firing over thirty percent of it's employees and selling Universal's pre-1930 film library to (ironically) United Artists for $325 million on 14 March, 1932. In December 1931, Philip Calathriner Sr. was taken to court by Capital for $545 million in debt. He lost the case and was sentenced to eight years in prison and $200 million in fines. In February 1933, Calathriner Communications declared bankruptcy and sought protection under Chapter I of the US Bankruptcy Code. In May 1933, the success of Calathriner's radio show A Look into our Lives saved the company from complete liquidation. Thus the radio division was heavily invested in and more radio stations were opened in the South and the Mid-West. By 1936, the company finally was able to break from Capital's control and filed successfully for the removal of bankruptcy protection, despite the fact Philip Jr. remained the company president. From 1933 on, Universal Pictures would be sidelined, with Calathriner focusing its time and energy on CBS. In June 1936, Calathriner Communications acquired the rights to broadcast American President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fire Side Chats until 1940, and these provided a further source of revenue. In March 1938, WCM-WNEV was opened in Boston, the first Calathriner radio station in New England. During this time period, Calathriner Communications began an expansion into television. In January 1939, the world's first television had been created by RCA, and thus began a revolution. In May 1939, CBS had acquired three television stations, W2AB, WMBA, and CBSI. To catch up with rival RCA, CBS opened Hyrton Laboratories in June 1939, and immediately moved into set production and color broadcasting. In July 1941, CBS went onto air as a television network, and would be firmly established by 1948. Company Expands Operations Internationally The company also began to expand internationally. In May 1928, Lord James Publishers had been formed in Manchester, United Kingdom from the merger of Calathriner-owned Royal Books with Frederick Warne & Co , the company that produced the famous Beatrix Potter children's' books. Lord James published many famous English magazines, including Daily Journal, English News, English Sports, and English History Pages. In June 1933, Lord James was the only part of Calathriner besides the CBS Radio division making considerable amounts of money. By January 1936, the massive English book-publisher Harper Collins had been purchased by Calathriner and made a division of Lord James. This brought new publications into fold, including the Daily Telegraph, The Sun, and Royalty. By 1938, Lord James was the third-largest publisher of magazines, books, and newspapers in England. In May 1937, Philip Jr. arranged for the acquisition of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Canada, thus assuming control of more then 56 radio stations in Canada, most in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta. It was renamed the Calathriner Radio in Canada. Within three years, Calathriner Canadian Radio became Canada's largest broadcaster of entertainment. In July 1940, Universal Unit in Canada was established to distribute American films in Canada. From 1924 until 1938, Universal in Germany had been run, broadcasting American films in the German language across Germany and Austria. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Universal-Germany was moved to Austria, and completely shut down when Austria became part of Germany in 1938. Universal-Germany would not be reestablished until 1960. In July 1938, WA-Mexico was opened in Mexico City, Mexico, to broadcast radio shows in Spanish all across Mexico and Latin America. WA-Mexico's shows, including Viva California!, Mia Momma, and Show in Mexico became extremely popular among the Mexican people. By 1942, Calathriner owned 13 radio stations in Mexico and 1 in Guatemala. World War II During World War II, about one-third of Calathriner's employees, including the president, Philip Jr., were called up to serve in the American armed forces. Calathriner organized $111 million in war bonds for the governments of England and the United States, and 11,700 pints of blood was donated by company employees not in the armed forces. During the war, Calathriner acquired RKO Radio Pictures, merging it into Universal and producing such films as A Day in War, My Fair Army Wife, and Child, That Man is Overseas!. In June 1942, Calathriner became the first company in the United States to integrate it's workforce, and by 1943 a quarter of Calathriner, including a member of the board of directors, were African-American. During the War, the dominance of the Nazis in the Atlantic cut off the company from it's publishing divisions in England. The only contacts was by radio waves. In 1943, firm communication with Lord James was finally established. In May 1945, at the end of the war, Calathriner acquired Westinghouse Radio, tripling CBS from 110 stations to 240 stations. This massive expansion would double CBS's power. Post War 40s After the War, Calathriner Communications prospered. In the 1948 case of Paramount Pictures vs. United States, the major studio-theater chains were forced to split into two companies each. Calathriner was not charged however, because of a loophole allowing communications companies to own theaters and film studios that were separately maintained and operated. After the case, Calathiner purchased the film studios' theaters: Paramount's in 1949, MGM's in 1950, and Warner's in 1951. This tripled Calathriner Theaters from 150 to 1,100 almost overnight, most located in the Midwest and Deep South. On 15 January 1948, all films of Universal Pictures were fully upgraded to color-on-film (later replaced by color-on-video in 1984). All films of it from this point on were broadcast in color, including scenes and music sequences. Also during this time, Universal moved into RKO studios and lots in Culver City. In June 1949, CBS was reorganized and heavily modified: 149 of it's 240 radio stations were transferred to television sequence stations, and a further 40 had a third of their programming, broadcasting, and time slot switched to television. Further Expansions In January 1948, Calathriner Communications purchased the ailing ABC radio network, creating ABC-Calathriner Networks, Inc and setting it up as a fourth independent television network, after NBC, Calathriner-owned CBS, and the DuMont network. In May 1949, Calathriner purchased a 50% interest in Channel 11 Los Angeles, and gained outright control in 1950. Channel 2 KTSL was purchased in 1949 as well, becoming the largest television station in California. In the late 1940s, CBS-Calathriner offered the first live television coverage of the proceedings of the United Nations General Assembly (1949). This journalist tour-de-force was under the direction of Edmund A. Chester, who was appointed to the post of Director for News, Special Events and Sports at CBS Television in 1948. In May 1950, Calathriner Communications began it's ventures into music, when it acquired the small Gardener Records, reorganizing the company, turning it into Calathriner Records. Soon Calathriner Records competed with Disney Records, superpassing it by 1954, and Disney Records was purchased and merged into Calathriner Records on 6 May 1956. Calathriner Music Publishing was established to coordinate Records projects in June 1953. In June 1951, Calathriner turned a lot of attention to overseas. Lord James Publishers acquired Penguin Books that month, tripling it's size and thus making it the second-largest publisher in England, second only to BBC Publishing. At the same time, WLXI-Manchester was opened in Manchester, England, in 1952, the first Calathriner radio station in England. By 1958, more then 40 radio stations were controlled by Calathriner in England, posing a threat to BBC Broadcasting. However, BBC remains England's largest radio and television broadcaster to this day, despite the opening of rival Calathriner English Television in 1957. In Canada, Calathriner Radio in Canada became Canadian Broadcasting Networks, Inc. on 18 May, 1954 and the first television station in Canada, WCM-95 TV, was opened in September. By 1958, Canadian Broadcasting was Canada's largest television producer and distrbutior, a post where it remained at until 1998. In Mexico, Calathriner des Radio Mexico was converted to Calathriner des Television Mexico in 1954. However, this television service flopped, because of the sterotypes it broadcast, so in 1956 it was shut down. By 1958, all Calathriner television operations in Mexico had been sold to the Mexican Broadcasting Coporation, despite the continuing Calathriner radio and publishing operations in Mexico. The Prominence of Television: The Decline of Film By the mid-50s, Calathriner Communications was generating money in it's television network, and losing it in it's radio and film operations. Because of this, the CBS television network was more invested in. The 1956 purchase of the failing, but pioneering, DuMont Television network, expanded the number of CBS television stations from 189 to 249. A lot of DuMont material, including DuMont Labatories, and several stars, came into the hands of CBS. CBS merged Hyrton Labatories and DuMont Labatories into CBS Labatories on 16 May 1957. CBS Labatories, especially the DuMont division, has remained CBS's developer of technology and distribution signaling ever since. With Desilu Productions as it's main production branch, CBS churned out many series during the period that generated large profits for Calathriner Communications, including I Love Lucy, Star Trek, The Andy Griffith Show, Mission: Impossible, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Make Room for Daddy, The Untouchables, I Spy, Harrigan and Son, Mannix, Wyatt Earp, Our Miss Brooks, The Real McCoys, Gomer Pyle, USMC, That Girl, and the first African-American television show, The Childings, about a poor black family in the Chicago projects. These shows gave Calathriner Communications a total of $100 million in profits yearly. It was during this time the leadership changed and the icons of the company died. On 18 June 1954, at the age of seventy-four, Philip Calathriner Sr. died, a virtually penniless man who lived on social security in his last days. His son Philip Jr. refused to give him a funeral, and only in 1978 was that honor granted. However, Philip Jr. would also be out. Two days after the death of long-time auditor and chief of film and publishing operations James Chase, on 8 September 1956, Philip Jr retired (aged 50) and handed the reins of power to his 30-year old son, Philip III, who became the new president and CEO. Philip had been president for twenty-five years, and no longer could fit into the times. Philip III had just recently married Katherine Reynolds, who in 1976 would become the company's president. Philip III continued the expansion of CBS, but he also invested in the other television network, ABC, also owned by Calathriner, which lagged in a measly third place. Philip solved this by hiring a young man, named David Goldenson, to manage ABC. By 1967, Goldenson had reorganized ABC, and it surpassed NBC in 1978 with the sucessfull Roots serials. However, Philip III wanted to revitalize Calathriner's film division, by now losing more money then ever. In January 1957, 20th Century Fox was purchased by Calathriner Communications for $6.6 million, and thus gained access to the CinemaScope technology. With Fox also came the legendary Marilyn Monroe. Philip III merged Technocolor and CinemaScope, creating a new division, Fox Films. Fox Libary and Universal Libary were merged as well, creating Calathriner Libary. 20th Century Fox's Spkyos Skouras was made the new president of the Calathriner film division, of both Universal and Fox. Skouras reorganized the division, creating Calathriner Film Holdings to distrbute the films of both companies. Calathriner invested in the film division, with Fox producing such films as My Fair Giving, That Baby!, Porgy and Bess, Put on the Show!, Child, What Man?, and the big-budget, but successfull remake of the 1917 film, Cleopatra, in 1963. The Longest Day, released in 1964, became one of the greatest films made on World War II and generated profits of $147 million. By 1967, 20th Century Fox was making almost as much money as the television division. To compensate Universal, in 1957, Universal was granted rights to re-release and distrbute Fox films. Thus, all Fox Films would be labeled as A Universal Picture released under the honor of 20th Century Fox. Thus, most moviegoers got tricked into thinking 20th Century only distrbuted the movie, and did not make them. Into the 60s The company entered the 60s with a new flush of cash, especially from 20th Century and CBS. Philip III decided to begin competition with Disney in the areas of animation and theme parks. In May 1961, Hanna-Barbara Productions and Ruby Spears Productions was purchased by Calathriner for $6.9 million. Both companies were made into one animation arm, Calathriner Animation, although they remained seperate divisions. Calathriner's Barbara Productions quickly became a threat to Disney Cartoons, producing classic shows including The Flintstones, The Yogi Bear Show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, The Quick Draw McGraw Show, Top Cat, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Space Ghost, Wacky Races, and The Smurfs. Hanna-Barbara still remains in operation today, mainly as a animation production arm for CBS and for Warner Bros. Animation. In 1962, Filmways, Inc. became a producer for CBS, producing Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbilles, The Hill Cows, and other rural-styled shows. These all became famous, and the profits of Beverly Hillbilles would allow Calathriner to open the first of the Calathriner Parks in 1966. In June 1964, Calathriner Communications permitted use of it's CinemaScope technology for CBS, thus making that channel's programming one-third color by 1965, and all programs color by 1967. Calathriner did not permitt the same for ABC until 1968, and for independent NBC until 1972. In May 1965, Calathriner expanded into the consumer products business by acquiring pioneering Hewitt-Packard Computers for $67.3 million. Hewitt-Packard worth less then that, but it would be a good bargain: Packard's computers, and later those of Compaq's, would generate $987.99 million in profits for Calathriner in 1983 alone, and a equal amount for every year after, exceeding $1 billion in 2000. In June 1963, WACPA-Los Angeles, the first Calathriner radio station opened since 1948, started operation. WACPA-Los Angeles soon superpassed WRCO-Radio as Los Angeles' largest radio station. The radio division began to make money again, and twenty more radio stations, including RCO-N9 in Alaska and Oahu-45 in Hawaii, were opened throughout the decade. The company also began to involve itself more in the civil rights movement. The company had an intergated workforce since 1943, and equal admission and employment at it's film, publishing, and theater chains since 1928, and those of television since 1948. However, it did not donate funds to NAACP, the organization that fought to end discrimination and seregration in the South and across the country. Starting in May 1960, Philip III donated annually $34 million to that organization, and a additional $50 million to Martin Luther King's SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). The company also slashed it's operations in the South and started refusing to serve seregrationists. In August 1963, the March on Washington and Dr. King's speech, plus the speeches of others, was telegrammed live, in black-and-white, on CBS and ABC. Calathriner Communications also continued to expand it's music division. In May 1963, Redric Records was purchased by Calathriner for $5.6 million. Redric produced Elvis Preseley's albums. However, Redric began to decline and by June 1964, had lost over $45.5 million in profit. Calathriner got distressed, as this meant losses for the general company, so in July 1964, the much more popular Mowtown Records was purchased by Calathriner for $8.9 million. Redric was made a publishing branch of Mowtown, which would make $560 million yearly in profits by 1967. These profits allowed the purchase of Touchstone Records for $4.5 million in 1965, and for Hollywood Records for $35.9 million in 1966. These would be great bargains, for Touchstone would make $560 million yearly, and Hollywood $975.9 million yearly. Buena Vista Records was purchased in 1967. In January 1964, profits from WACPA-Los Angeles, by now totaling $230 million yearly, allowed the company to began expansion and revitalization of both it's film and radio divisions, in time making them equal in profits to the television and music divisions. With a flow of cash in hand, mainly because of it's music and television ventures, Calathriner began it's expansion of it's flagging film and radio divisions. In May 1965, Calathriner Communications acquired the pre-1960 libary of Paramount Pictures for $45 million, and added it to it's Calathriner Film Archives. Calathriner began to release classic Paramount films, including She Done Him Wrong, Paramount Parade, and Wild Days on CBS, and A Time is a Dime, Pity, and Girl's Movement, on ABC, through it's Weekly Movie Slots. In January 1967, Calathriner finally purchased United Artists and their film archives for $97.9 million. This brought into it's hands a large collection of famous films, including all of the films of Warner Bros before 1950, plus all the films of Universal before 1930 it had sold to United Artists in 1932. United Artists under the rule of Calathriner produced In the Heat of the Night, Sindcate, The Graduate, and Fiddler on the Roof. Late 60s-Early 70s Starting in the early 70s, the film division once more slumped. 20th Century continued to prosper, but Universal continued to decline. To counter this, in June 1970, Philip reorganized Universal, reincorporating it as Universal Pictures, Inc. This time, all 20th Century pictures were labeled as A Universal Film, released in the name of Fox. Category:Fictional organizations Category:Fictional companies